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The Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870
Category:OverviewCategory:BackgroundCategory:Disaster Introduction The Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 occurred at a critical moment in a highly critical place: Richmond, Virginia. With a thriving economy centered on the continent’s second largest slave market, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. The Virginia State Capitol building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, was the heart of the Confederacy at the time of the Civil War. From General Robert E. Lee's acceptance of his position as commander of the Confederate forces in 1861 to the inauguration of President Jefferson Davis in 1862, the Virginia State Capitol building housed major significance to the Southern elite in the fight against the Union. Although the Confederate soldiers accepted defeat, the Confederate surrender at the Appomattox Court House in April of 1865 did not indicate the end of the war, nor did it signify Richmond’s demise as capital of the Confederate South. The era of Reconstruction, aimed at reuniting the nation under a central federal government, only served to drive the North and the South further apart. The Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 signaled the collapse of the Reconstruction era in Richmond, Virginia, as it served as a metaphor to justify the return to self-government under the Virginia Constitution. Background Reconstruction and the "New South" Richmond Mayoralty Case On April 27th, 1870, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals was to read its decision in the case of Ellyson vs. Chahoon, commonly referred to as the Richmond Mayoralty case. On March 16th, 1870, Henry K. Ellyson was elected as the mayor of Richmond. Capitol Disaster The date was Wednesday, April 27th, 1870 as people gathered in the Virginia State Capitol building to hear the court’s decision on a highly popular case.“The 1870 “Capitol Disaster””. The Virginia State Capitol History Project. http://www.vacapitol.org/disaster.htm. Accessed September 13, 2014. Hundreds of people proceeded into the Capitol’s second-floor courtroom, located directly above the Hall of Delegates.“The 1870 “Capitol Disaster””. The Virginia State Capitol History Project. http://www.vacapitol.org/disaster.htm. Accessed September 13, 2014. At around 11 that morning, soon after session convened, the balcony in the courtroom collapsed. This caused the floor of the courtroom to give way, sending approximately three hundred and fifty-five men plummeting into the chamber below.“The 1870 “Capitol Disaster””. The Virginia State Capitol History Project. http://www.vacapitol.org/disaster.htm. Accessed September 13, 2014. There were sixty-two reported deaths attributed to this incident, and approximately one hundred and twenty men were injured.“The 1870 “Capitol Disaster””. The Virginia State Capitol History Project. http://www.vacapitol.org/disaster.htm. Accessed September 13, 2014. Among the dead include Mr. J. W. D. Bland, a Virginia State Senator and Mr. P.H. Aylett, Assistant Attorney-General for the Confederate States prior to the conclusion of the Civil War. Former Virginia governor, Henry H. Wells was among the many men who were seriously wounded.“The 1870 “Capitol Disaster””. The Virginia State Capitol History Project. http://www.vacapitol.org/disaster.htm. Accessed September 13, 2014. Causes Reactions Memorial At the request of the Virginia General Assembly, the Capitol Disaster was memorialized in 1918 with the creation of a tablet.George Christian. ''The Capitol Disaster: A Chapter of Reconstruction in Virginia. ''Richmond, Virginia: Richmond Press, Inc, 1915. The tablet details the events leading up to the catastrophe as well as the number of individuals who fell victim to the collapse.George Christian. ''The Capitol Disaster: A Chapter of Reconstruction in Virginia. ''Richmond, Virginia: Richmond Press, Inc, 1915. Today, the tablet can be viewed in what is now referred to as the Old House Chamber. George Christian. ''The Capitol Disaster: A Chapter of Reconstruction in Virginia. ''Richmond, Virginia: Richmond Press, Inc, 1915. From 1904 to 1906, the Capitol building underwent a major renovation with the addition of two wings and the formation of new House and Senate chambers.http://www.virginiacapitol.gov/visitors.php?p=index Effects Primary Source Analysis "A Letter of Judge Joseph Christian to His Wife" With the courtroom balcony at overcapacity, one man stood helplessly as he watched the Capitol itself come crashing down: Judge Joseph Christian. In a letter to his wife dated the night of the disaster, Judge Joseph Christian describes in great detail the horror he and his fellows experienced as “the most shocking and appalling calamity that ever happened in this country”. Judge Christian’s framing of the disaster within his letter, including his multiple allusions to the Civil War and his emphasis on the loss of the “best men in the City and State”, shows that the courtroom collapse was more than a horrific tragedy among the government elite attributed to physical defect in the balcony's structure, as it is commonly described; along with the courtroom balcony, the political infrastructure of 1870 Richmond came tumbling down. In describing the courtroom collapse to his wife, Judge Joseph Christian alludes to the Civil War, illuminating the antebellum tensions still present among Richmond’s government elite. As Judge Christian gives his personal account of the disaster, he writes, “men worked with the energy of despair and deeds of heroism were performed such as no battlefield ever witnessed.” Judge Christian’s interpretation of the courtroom collapse highlights the magnitude of the death, destruction, and heroism encountered that fateful morning. Judge Joseph Christian’s letter also draws a parallel of the courtroom collapse to the scene of a battlefield as he describes “the wail of sorrow that went up, as wives recognized husbands, brothers and sisters, brothers, and mothers their mangled and bleedings sons.” Prior to its collapse, the courtroom served as a metaphorical battleground of the Civil War, as Mayor George Chahoon, with his loyalty to military officials, refused to recognize Henry K. Ellyson as his successor. Joseph Christian’s letter serves as evidence that the problems of the Civil War didn’t end in 1865, for a violent struggle for power continued into April 27th, 1870, when the Capitol of the Confederacy came crashing down. With the conclusion of the Civil War, the political atmosphere of 1870 Richmond underwent a dramatic transition. The vocabulary used in Judge Christian's letter shows the effect of the era of Reconstruction on the psyche of the Southern elite. From military occupation to admittance into the Union, the problems the South faced following the Civil War sparked new political tensions along the same political divide. Thus, Judge Joseph Christian establishes the mass destruction of the courtroom collapse as a continuation of the Civil War, proving its political significance in the course of Richmond’s transition from “capital of the Confederacy” to “capital of the Commonwealth.” Judge Joseph Christian also proves that the Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 had major political significance to the city of Richmond with its loss of “the best men in the City and State”. In his emotional account of the disaster, Judge Christian indicates that the courtroom collapse was a significant and disastrous event due to the men whom it directly impacted: the government elite of 1870 Richmond. Judge Christian writes that the courtroom collapse was made “more terrible, for every now and then he would find that some poor mangled and naked wretch was one of his dear friends.” As exemplified by Judge Joseph Christian, many of the men affected by the tragedy were his personal friends, causing him and his fellow officials to experience a heightened emotional response in mourning their government cohorts. Judge Joseph Christian recalls that “men accustomed to restrain their feelings, moaned and wept like children.” His letter provides critical insight into how the government elite responded to the tragedy: with deep sorrow and remorse. Joseph Christian also writes, “The Clerks office with all our records are destroyed and more than half the lawyers practicing in our Court are killed and wounded.” Christian makes it apparent that the Capitol disaster had a lasting impact on the lives of Richmond’s government officials as the Capitol’s infrastructure lay in ruins. In doing so, Judge Christian substantiates that the Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 wasn’t merely an unfortunate occurrence; rather, the courtroom collapse had a profound impact on the government elite in a “clean sweep” fashion. Following nearly ten years of political strife, the Capitol disaster opened the doors for political reform and social progress with Richmond’s government looking to rebuild. There remains several elements of Joseph Christian’s letter that provide critical understanding of the political ramifications of the Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870. First, Joseph Christian’s intended audience of this letter was his wife, to whom the letter was addressed. Joseph Christian offers his sincere response to the courtroom collapse, “Oh my dear wife and children – from what an awful fate we been spared.” Joseph Christian utilizes informal diction as he describes the collapse in a highly personal fashion, with intense emotional overtones and religious references. Because the letter is meant for a private audience, the reader is able to grasp a raw, personal perspective of the disaster, as opposed to more formal sources, such as a newspaper article. Additionally, Judge Joseph Christian’s letter is a firsthand account of the courtroom collapse, giving it a higher validity than many other primary sources, oftentimes presenting secondhand or third-hand information. Judge Christian’s letter was also written on the night of the disaster, increasing the validity of the source by reducing the chance of his memory becoming reconstructed and increasing the level of detail of the collapse as he experienced. However, this primary source is also limited. Judge Joseph Christian was a highly influential and powerful man at the time of the Virginia Capitol Disaster, and his perspective of the event allows the reader to understand the courtroom collapse through the eyes of an authority figure but not the middle and lower class individuals who also experienced horror that day. Thus, the reader is left to question how the common folk of Richmond were impacted by this disaster. In analyzing Joseph Christian’s letter as a primary source, Christian provides a personal, firsthand perspective of the Capitol disaster from the viewpoint of Richmond’s government elite, proving that the courtroom collapse had a significant impact on the political infrastructure of 1870 Richmond. Judge Joseph Christian’s letter to his wife acts as evidence that the Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 was more than a misfortunate tragedy in the course of Richmond’s history. Through his allusions to the Civil War, his emotional response to the loss of many government officials, and his religious justification of the disaster, it is apparent that the courtroom collapse served as a turning point in the course of Richmond’s transformation from “Capitol of the Confederacy” to “Capitol of the Commonwealth”. No doubt, the letter of Judge Joseph Christian has enhanced the understanding of the Virginia Capitol Disaster of 1870 as well as its lasting significance to the lives of the people of Richmond. Narrative of the Collapse Secondary Sources